Government declares December 27 public holiday
By Hilary KimuyuThe government has declared Tuesday, December 27 public holiday.
Interior Cabinet Secretary Kithure Kindiki in a Gazzate Notice dated December 22, 2022, said the two days will be observed as public holidays giving Kenyans a four-day Christmas weekend.
This year’s Christmas Day falls on Sunday while Boxing Day is on a Monday.
When a public holiday falls on a Sunday, a non-working day, it is usually celebrated the following day, Monday, which is a working day.
However, December 26, Boxing Day which will fall on a Monday, would have “taken up” the slot for the “postponed” Christmas.
That means that the Christmas celebration, which would have fallen on a Monday, would be pushed to Tuesday, December 27.
“It is notified for information to the public that the Cabinet Secretary for Interior and National Administration pursuant to and in the exercise of powers conferred by section 3 read together with section 4 of the Public Holidays Act, and part 1 of the Schedule thereto, declares Tuesday 27th December 2022 be a public Holiday,” the statement signed by CS Interior read.
Section 4 of the Public Holidays Act says: “Where, in any year, a public holiday falls on a Sunday, then the first succeeding day, not being a public holiday, shall be a public holiday and the first-mentioned day shall cease to be a public holiday.”
Section 3 of the Act gives the Interior minister powers to declare as a public holiday any day outside the originally-assigned public holidays.
“The minister may at any time if he thinks fit, by notice in the Gazette, declare any day to be a public holiday either in addition to the days mentioned in the Schedule or in substitution for any of those days,” says Section 3 of the Public Holidays Act.
The notice however did not mention anything about New Year which falls on a Sunday as well.
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